Jason Raak

Primary Menu

Category Uncategorized

So at the time of this writing SolidWorks WORLD 2013 has officially wrapped up and many of the 4,500 users that descended upon Disney the last 4 days have probably started their trek back home. A lot of them are probably itching to get back to their dark & musty corner of the basement to try out all the cool stuff they just learned.

As a pre-requisite, this article is not meant to tear down anyone or anything but is simply some food for thought and a seed for some constructive discussions hopefully.

This morning I was able to watch the General Session from Monday in its entirety. One of the things that really stuck out to me from that video was the statement that “94% of the users surveyed approved of the current offering”. This is a great number considering around 250,000 users were surveyed but this also means that about 15,000 users (or 6%) were not satisfied currently. To take it a step further, of the 2,000,000 licenses sold (a milestone reached in December 2012), 120,000 of them are not satisfied if that approval rating continues to hold true. Likewise, is 12.5% of the total user base really a true depiction of the entire SolidWorks community?

Anyways, for the sake of this article lets assume that approval rating does hold true. My question is, what is SolidWorks doing about the 6% that don't approve of their current offerings? At my company I can compare it to a goal of being on-time will all of our deliveries 100% of the time. Now if we were on-time 94% of the time I would be pleased BUT what would really bother me is what happened the other 6% of the time. So, is SolidWorks holding their hat on the 94% or are they “upset” that 6% of their users do not approve? Is their answer / solution packaged in a new software like SolidWorks Mechanical Conceptual (which needs to be a whole separate post) or is it included in some of the new features announced for SolidWorks 2014 (which again will need to be a entirely separate post)?

What are your thoughts on this? Are YOU satisfied with 94%? Should SolidWorks be satisfied?

First and foremost, I need to share with you that I am using a new app on my iPad called Blogsy to write this post so if the formatting, spelling, or grammar turns out to be JUNK, I apologize. Also, I would like to say that if the article itself has a raunchy stench to it, I unfortunately can't blame the app for that and all I can blame is the sub zero temperatures I am being forced to endure right now and my lack of witty writing skills.

I need to confess that keeping this blog up to date over the last 18 months has been pretty low on my priority list but after seeing & reading all of the stuff coming out of SUNNY Orlando, FL this week, I have a renewed interest in bringing this blog “back from the dead”. I know this is probably the thirty thousandth time I have wrote this but I haven't felt this reinvigorated in a long time. Also, I am hoping that IF this new app works out, it will allow me to be a little more mobile & flexible with writing my posts.

Like I mentioned, there has been some interesting news coming out of the Swan & Dolphin Resort this week at SolidWorks WORLD 2013. Some of the highlights so far haven been…

The Introduction of SolidWorks Mechanical Conceptual

User & Seats Statistics

and probably a few more that I am forgetting right now due to the frostbite starting to form on my brain.

I am hoping to spend some more time in the upcoming days / weeks covering some of these topics more in detail especially after I try to round up some more information about them.

Ok, that is enough for now. My fingers are starting to freeze to the screen as I am trying to type this so I better shut down and shove my hands down my pants like a baseball player in October (for you Cubs fans, that is what some players & managers do to keep the hands warm during the postseason which I thought I better clarify seeing you probably don't even realize there is baseball played in October any more).

Follow me on Twitter

Email

Email Subscription

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 109 other followers

Disclaimer

• Dassault Systemes SolidWorks Corporation has paid for my travel, accommodations, and some meals for the 2011 SolidWorks launch blogger event.
• Dassault Systemes SolidWorks Corporation has paid for my travel, accommodations, and some meals for various user group events including SolidWorks WORLD 2011.
• I am a member of the Dassault Systemes SolidWorks Corporation user group program as a group leader. I am not compensated for my user group involvement.
• Dassault Systemes SolidWorks Corporation provides me with a non-commercial license of SolidWorks Premium for review purposes. I am in occasional contact with employees at Dassault Systemes SolidWorks Corporation and I am sometimes asked to provide feedback on new products or programs. I am not compensated for these efforts.